Echo's Cry
by TheMaskedGirl
Summary: "I was merely an echo. I was nothing but an echo. I longed to hear myself speak on my own and not repeat what others said. But most of all, I longed to tell him I that love him." Based on The Mark of Athena. Echo's tragic tale. R&R.


**A/N: **Hello! I finished reading The Mark of Athena a few days ago and wow, it was AMAZING. I absolutely LOVE Annabeth. (I always have.) So, if you've read it, at least the first one hundred pages, you'll be able to relate. If not, it's alright. As long as you're familiar with the myth about Echo.

I admit. I actually cried when I read the part of Echo in MoA.

Word count: 987

So, without further ado, here's Echo's Cry!

Echo's Cry

By TheMaskedGirl

I was merely an echo. I was nothing but an echo. I longed to hear myself speak on my own and not repeat what others said.

But most of all, I longed to tell him I love him.

I hid behind a tree and peeked at him. He was looking at his reflection on the lake. The lake gave off a bronze-like glow on his skin which made him look more beautiful.

Nymphs were fawning over him, but he paid them no heed. They wanted him to love then. I did too, but there was something I wanted more than his love.

"He is so beautiful!" one of the nymphs said very loudly.

"He is so beautiful," I repeated. It was my curse.

All the nymphs turned to me in unison. They were able to identify my voice amongst the others, for some reason. One of them glared at me and said, "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" I said.

"You're annoying us! Leave," the grass nymph said.

"Leave us," I said sadly. I was in no mood to fight. I only came because I wanted to see him. They hated me, but why? I did not do anything to them. I spared another glance at him and dashed off.

I spent the remaining time of the day inside a cave. I felt at peace inside caves. I closed my eyes for a while and waited for night to come. As a nymph, I was connected to nature. I could feel the change of weather or the transition of day and night. When night finally came, I willed myself to wake and hurriedly left the cave.

I saw him sitting on the bank. All the nymphs left. They were afraid of this moment. I was too, but I couldn't bear to leave him alone. I closed my eyes.

Then I heard it.

"NARCISSUS!" he shouted.

"Narcissus," I echoed softly. I opened my eyes and looked.

He wailed and wailed. He threw rocks at the water and shouted his name over and over again. I repeated everything he said.

He cried and I cried with him. It hurt to see him like that. His reflection was his lifeline. He couldn't see himself in the dark and it hurt him. It hurt me too.

I wanted to wrap my arms around him and tell him everything was going to be alright. But I couldn't and it hurt.

I watched him cry behind the tree. He cried until the sun traveled up the sky.

_Thank you, Apollo, _I thanked the sun god.

When he felt the sun shining on him, he stopped crying and looked back down. "You're back!" he exclaimed.

"You're back," I said with a sigh.

The nymphs came back again now that he was back to himself. They giggled and giggled. It was annoying.

Their giggles weren't the only things that annoyed me. They were cowards. They did not care about him. They only cared about his looks. They did not _love _him.

I did.

I stepped forward and walked to where he and the nymphs were. Nobody noticed me. Nobody did unless I spoke. I watched him in content.

"Narcissus, marry me!" a nymph shrilled.

"Narcissus, marry me," I said as quietly as I could. If they noticed me, they would surely push me away. I could fight, but I was outnumbered.

Somebody heard me, unfortunately. "Echo's here again!" the nymph who heard me shouted.

They groaned. Why did they hate me? What did I do?

"Gods, Echo, what in the name of Hades is your problem?" a wood nymph asked me.

I repeated what she said.

They groaned again. Suddenly, one shrub nymph cackled in glee. She gathered all the nymphs and told them something. They all nodded in agreement. What was happening?

The lake nymph walked to me. She was the most confident and she acted as the leader of the group. She held my wrist and we walked to him.

"Narcissus, honey," she said in her awfully sweet voice, "Echo here has something to say."

"Something to say," I repeated, confused.

She pushed me down until I was kneeling beside him. She whispered something in my ear. It was so soft that only I was able to hear it.

My eyes widened in terror, but I repeated what she said, "I hate you, Narcissus."

I shook my head. No! No!

He looked away from his reflection. He was confused at first, but the confusion soon turned into anger. He looked at me with such hatred that I wanted to die _again_. Death sounded better than this.

"Nobody hates me!" he bellowed in rage. "You're a liar! Liar!"

I shook my head. Tears filled my bright blue eyes. No! "Liar," I said. I looked at the nymphs. They smiled in glee. They loved to torment me. Why?

"Narcissus hates Echo!" they said.

The tears fell. No! No!

"I hate you, Echo," he said. He glared at me and knelt back down to stare at his reflection.

"I hate you, Echo." I stood up shakily and stumbled away from them. Away from the man I loved.

He hated me. Tears freely fell from eyes. I did not bother to wipe them away. He hated me. But I needed to save him. I needed to save him from himself.

I collapsed in a broken heap beside a large boulder and cried my heart out. What should I do?

_Help me,_ I thought sadly.

I stared at my hands on my lap. I was still crying. Someone urged me to look up. I would never know who, but I was thankful that that somebody did.

I looked up. I saw two figures looming in the distance. Help was coming. I looked up at the heavens and thanked the gods.

They heard me. They heard my soundless cries. They heard Echo's cry.

**A/N: **I hope you liked it! Please leave a review!

Love lots,

TheMaskedGirl


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